Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 595 Second Brother, Oh Second Brother...

Just as many people look down on poor relatives, the waiters in teahouses and taverns outside became arrogant and haughty here, and their bossy attitude made Xia Lin very unhappy.

But then the guide had something to say: "General, you don't know this, these people are despicable. If you treat them well, they won't even leave you a scrap. These people are poor and lazy. When our village outside tried to help them, they robbed us instead. So we blocked the road and left them to fend for themselves."

Xia Lin didn't speak, but just stood with his hands behind his back, watching the tribe begging for food in the vast mountains, his mind racing.

This place needs to be taken care of; it needs poverty alleviation.

However, he didn't say it out loud at the time. After all, some things don't need to be said until the decision is made, otherwise failing to do so would be considered inferior.

He waved his hand, signaling the guide to continue inquiring about the mandrill.

Through their inquiries along the way, they had made some progress. They learned that the mandrill had indeed come a few days ago, but was taken away by the high priest shortly after its arrival.

Hearing this, Xia Lin's heart skipped a beat. After all, someone who had been thoroughly immersed in sweet potato novels, the mere mention of the word "priest" instinctively conjured up images of human sacrifice...

"Oh no, how am I going to explain this to my wife and father-in-law? Ugh..."

Xia Lin covered her head and squatted on the ground: "Two..."

After saying that, he stood up and rubbed his nose: "Things have come to this point, there's nothing more to say. Immediately mobilize the army and slaughter them all!"

"Don't panic."

Xu Shiji waved his hand, then pointed to the people around him: "Look at these people, they're all skin and bones, starving and poorly clothed. No matter how many of them there are, they can't defeat that mountain demon."

Hearing this, Xia Lin immediately realized it made sense, and her mood instantly brightened...

Although she was extremely worried, when Xia Lin finally saw her second brother, she felt it would be better if he were forced to have his belly cut open.

When they entered the high priest's quarters, they saw that the second brother was only wearing trousers and was shirtless. He was surrounded by young girls, who, while not particularly beautiful, were young, and youth is beauty...

If it were my second brother doing an impromptu performance right now, Xia Lin would accept it without even having to think about it, but this guy is just doing nothing.

The son of a regent, a proper young prince, is being used like a donkey. And look at his appearance—it's a classic case of pulling a millstone naked, going around in circles and making a fool of himself.

But to be honest, it's no wonder those Miao girls were shouting about it. Second Brother's body is truly beautiful, almost pushing the boundaries of human lines and muscle aesthetics. And if it's covered in sweat, it's way more impressive than any steroid-fueled muscle-building body.

The second brother, amidst his exclamations, lost himself in the process, grinding the stone mill faster and faster, even more energetically than a donkey.

“Look, this is what you call professional,” Xu Shiji said to Xia Lin, pointing to his second brother. “You can always trust that this mandrill is tough.”

Yes, yes, mandrills are really resilient...

Seeing her second brother pushing the millstone until it sparks, Xia Lin's expression was comparable to Maggie Cheung's bewildered expression when she saw the Mickey Mouse tattoo in "Comrades: Almost a Love Story."

After a while, the second brother finally stopped when he saw them. Xu Shiji and Xia Lin were in the same position, with their arms crossed and leaning against the fence, looking at the second brother with a mocking gaze.

Second Brother was reckless, but he wasn't stupid. He knew he had probably caused trouble, and he even scratched the back of his head, feeling rather embarrassed.

"I……"

Xia Lin raised his hand: "We don't want to hear why you're pulling the millstone. We just want to ensure your safety, Your Highness."

"Let's go, Your Highness." Xu Shiji also gestured for him to proceed.

The two of them kept calling each other "Your Highness," which felt similar to posting a picture of Nezha on social media during college with the caption "My fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens," and everyone in the dorm started calling you "Brother Tian."

The instantaneous spiritual pressure was almost enough to make the mandrill explode.

The gentle mandrill was visibly red from its ears to its waist, looking like it had an allergic reaction. It chuckled awkwardly for a while before finally muttering, "I'm not leaving..."

"Not leaving!?"

Xia Lin exclaimed in surprise, her voice even cracking slightly: "If you don't leave and stay in a place like this, what are you going to do?"

Xu Shiji's eyes also revealed a hint of helplessness and amusement. "That's right, we're not leaving." The second brother raised his head and said, "If even I don't want them anymore, they can only wait to die."

In short, this really energized Xia Lin and Xu Shiji.

Xia Lin looked around, then sat down on the large rock in front of the broken bamboo building with interest, crossed his arms and asked, "Alright, Second Brother. Old Xu and I would like to make it clear to you here that if you can convince us, we will definitely get things done for you."

The second brother smacked his lips, sat down, and began to narrate.

In fact, poverty, after a region has been poor for a long time, tends to evolve in a similar way. Under extreme poverty, all kinds of inhumane practices will occur. For example, when a newborn is born, the elderly will go to the altar and turn themselves into food to support their families for a period of time. Or, even very basic infectious diseases such as the flu and cold will cause mass deaths due to lack of medical care and medicine.

But the mountains are not afraid; the mountains can give birth. But after giving birth, they are still trapped in the mountains, endlessly reincarnating in this nightmare.

According to my second brother, this place isn't as terrifying as the rumors suggest; the people here are quite kind.

But Xia Lin thought he was talking nonsense. You see, he was very sensitive to eyes and gazes. The feeling he had on his way here was as if he were a sexy, slender young woman walking through the slums of Delhi. The only difference was that there it was a desire for lust, while here it was a desire for flesh.

No joke, in an area where the elderly are the main source of food, there is no way you can find any pity or friendliness. Even if those young girls are watching the second brother grind grain with glee, they are probably just cheering for the freshness of the ingredients.

The only reason they haven't taken action is most likely because they're not hungry enough right now and plan to wait a while longer to raise them as a food reserve.

You should know that beautiful flowers cannot bloom in barren lands, and even if they do, they are highly poisonous.

Unlike his second brother's naiveté, Xia Lin took it to heart. This place definitely needed to be changed. Tens of thousands of people couldn't just be left to endlessly cycle through life in this place.

“I don’t care about all that. I’ll figure out a way to handle things here, but the condition is that you have to come with us.”

"I do not go."

Second Brother's stubbornness resurfaced, but this time Xia Lin didn't compromise with him. Her smiling face immediately collapsed, and she looked at Second Brother coldly.

"No matter what you say this time, you have to come with me. I said I'll think of a way."

“I’m not going with you. We agreed to come out and explore the world together, but you two start scheming and plotting again as soon as you arrive at a place. It’s so boring. I’d rather stay here and enjoy myself. The chief here even promised to help me catch a falcon.”

Xia Lin's eyelids slowly drooped, then his eyes suddenly widened: "If you don't leave, I'll make this place a river of blood!"

At this moment, Xu Shiji also noticed that something was wrong. He quickly stepped forward to act as a peacemaker, first pulling his second brother aside.

"Don't do anything rash, listen to Daosheng. He must have discovered something; he wouldn't be so decisive normally. Peace and stability come first."

“What could possibly happen to me? I’ve traveled all over the country.”

At this moment, one of the guides ran over in a panic. He came to Xia Lin and said, "General, hurry! I heard them say they're going to capture you! Those people are already coming this way."

Xia Lin didn't panic. He simply took out his shotgun, slowly began loading bullets, then released the safety and fired two shots into the sky.

Two loud bangs startled the birds in the mountains, and many animals scattered in panic. The people who were gradually surrounding them also stopped and looked over in the shadows with a hint of fear.

At this moment, Xia Lin calmly reloaded the bullets and fired a shot at a stone trough, which immediately shattered into pieces.

This really intimidated the people around them.

"Go and tell them: those who want to live should not block the way, otherwise none of us will survive."

As they spoke, the guards who had come with them took out their weapons and pulled out bullets from their backpacks, hanging them on their belts, and began to stand ready for battle.

"Second brother, I'm asking you one last time, are you leaving or not? If you're not leaving, I'll break your legs and carry you out."

Despite being a formidable hero, Second Brother panicked when he encountered Xia Lin. He didn't dare to argue and could only lower his head, not even having time to put on his clothes, and silently followed Xia Lin and the guards who had been on guard the whole time, as they began to evacuate to a safe place under the guidance of the guide.

Xu Shiji finally realized what was going on, and cold sweat began to pour from his forehead. Halfway there, he said softly, "With so many of them coming, they're not planning to eat us, are they?"

"What do you think?" Xia Lin smiled. "I told you, they're really eating people right now."

(End of this chapter)